ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Florida has taken a step to halt investment of state resources in the parent company of Ben & Jerry’s over its decision to stop selling ice cream in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and contested east Jerusalem.
Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday that the State Board of Administration has added London-based Unilever to its list of companies that boycott Israel.
This means that if Ben & Jerry’s position on Israel is not reversed in 90 days, Florida will not invest in or contract with Unilever or its subsidiaries.
“As a matter of law and principle, the State of Florida will not tolerate discrimination against the State of Israel or the Israeli people,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “By placing Ben & Jerry’s Fortune 500 parent company Unilever on our List of Scrutinized Companies that Boycott Israel, Florida is sending a message to corporate America that we will defend our strong relationship with the Jewish State. I will not stand idly by as woke corporate ideologues seek to boycott and divest from our ally, Israel.”
The Florida State Board of Administration (SBA) will send Unilever a notice of its status, which the governor's office says will likely go into effect based on the company's stance.
He's referring to company founders Bennett Cohen and Jerry Greenfield writing in a recent opinion piece that they no longer control the company but the Israeli action reflects their progressive values.
"There is nothing progressive about boycotting the only democracy in the Middle East," the governor's office said in response.
Gov. DeSantis first sent a letter to the SBA on the matter of the company's stance on Israel on July 22.
Ben & Jerry's announcement was one of the highest-profile company rebukes of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, territories Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast war. Most of the international community considers these settlements illegal under international law and an impediment to peace with the Palestinians.
